[Hairy Frizbee]

Hi there,
Long time VW fan, replacing a Subi. I’ve recently picked up a 2012 TDI. 95k, and really clean in general for a car that is a dozen years old.
I have found forum communities to be very helpful when solving problems. Especially those that are common. If it is happening to me, it has probably happened to someone else. That person may have spent a great deal of time, trouble and money to solve it. I hope they are here!
Seriously hoping to learn about my new ride, things that go wrong, how to fix’em.
Also would like to know about aftermarket tuning and upgrades.
Have a nice day!
Jon

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

Tell me you've previously owned a CR TDI

 

[Hairy Frizbee]

I can’t. I haven’t. Looking for knowledge.

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

Lots around... Start reading and brace yourself

 

[Hairy Frizbee]

Well, that sounds like I may have triple Lindyed into the shallow end of the pool.
Going to learn today!

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

Order VCDS

 

[Wagon8ter]

Order VCDS

Don't bother the 500 to 1k for the vcds, they just want to nerd out, I have the same exact ride and mileage. 337 emulator for 40 bucks and the torque app you get the engine codes.
If your even with the engine light on..

welcome to clown world rules and the points don't count..

You can figure it all out.

.

 

[New2Tregs]

Hi there,
Long time VW fan, replacing a Subi. I’ve recently picked up a 2012 TDI. 95k, and really clean in general for a car that is a dozen years old.
I have found forum communities to be very helpful when solving problems. Especially those that are common. If it is happening to me, it has probably happened to someone else. That person may have spent a great deal of time, trouble and money to solve it. I hope they are here!
Seriously hoping to learn about my new ride, things that go wrong, how to fix’em.
Also would like to know about aftermarket tuning and upgrades.
Have a nice day!
Jon

Hello and welcome to the forums.
Congrats on your purchase.

 

[New2Tregs]

Don't bother the 500 to 1k for the vcds, they just want to nerd out, I have the same exact ride and mileage. 337 emulator for 40 bucks and the torque app you get the engine codes.
If your even with the engine light on..

welcome to clown world rules and the points don't count..

You can figure it all out.

.

VCDS itself is only $199 USD.
Most people have a laptop running Windows 7 or higher.
It's most recommended on here because most use it, and there is great support for it.
Can you use something else? Of course. It's all a matter of being comfortable with what you're using.

 

[Hairy Frizbee]

I have a scanner I use for my motorcycle. OBDIIMX+ if I recall. Bluetoothed to a tablet with an app I can see and do lots of stuff on my BMW. Is there any software that works for VW?

 

[Viking Lady]

A VCDS from Ross Tech is going to pay for itself for comfort coding, diagnosing, etc. Ross Tech has forums and customer support too. And you can share your scan on Club Touareg for additional assistance.

 

[New2Tregs]

There is also OBDEleven which is a Bluetooth dongle you use with your phone but it does not come with as comprehensive support as VCDS.

 

[Wagon8ter]

Cann buss scanners are out there stand alone. Even a 40 emulator and torque for free can scan the engines. You need a Can-scaner to get the the other ecus.
This is a vdsc cult.. all others are ridiculed relentlessly

 

[SaVAGeSoot]

Popcorn anyone? 🍿

 

[Wagon8ter]

Popcorn anyone? 🍿

This is called a service clut. Where dear users follow a leaders and try to "service others" look it up. I used to see this on vwvortex back in the day.. one way or the highway you can't be part of the Greater Good. It's better than a cargo cult but not be much.

 

[casioqv]

Cann buss scanners are out there stand alone. Even a 40 emulator and torque for free can scan the engines. You need a Can-scaner to get the the other ecus.
This is a vdsc cult.. all others are ridiculed relentlessly

It isn’t possible to do the basic functions necessary to diagnose and maintain a Touareg at home with those systems. I tried using Torque plus a knockoff vag-com dongle when I first got my Touareg TDI and ran into numerous things that simply weren’t possible. I didn’t want to buy VCDS, but there was no other option. For example, I could not get detailed info to diagnose adblue system failures, and I couldn’t reset the countdown to keep from getting stranded. In principle one could code their own VCDS alternative that works with generic interface hardware, but to my knowledge nobody has done so. A used VCDS with a single vin left only costs about $100 on eBay.

 

[Wagon8ter]

It isn’t possible to do the basic functions necessary to diagnose and maintain a Touareg at home with those systems. I tried using Torque plus a knockoff vag-com dongle when I first got my Touareg TDI and ran into numerous things that simply weren’t possible. I didn’t want to buy VCDS, but there was no other option. For example, I could not get detailed info to diagnose adblue system failures, and I couldn’t reset the countdown to keep from getting stranded. In principle one could code their own VCDS alternative that works with generic interface hardware, but to my knowledge nobody has done so. A used VCDS with a single vin left only costs about $100 on eBay.

Plus laptop plus learning time etc, I have several 337emulators, and not all loaded into torque on a 2012 . One did, from a trift shop for 3 bucks was the winner.

Locked 3 cars. Buy more, so old it's an windows xt shell. It's just my ast cam buss scanner still plugs along all the ecus.

 

[casioqv]

I just dumped 4 grand on rubber coolant hoses for my Touareg since they were failing one at a time I just did them all. The idea that $100 is a crazy amount for a one time purchase to make diagnostics 100x easier is anything but a no brainer is absurd. VCDS makes life so much easier, it is a reason alone to own a VW over any other brand. I also have Durametic, the analogous system for Porsche, and it generally considered pretty good, but it is not nearly as powerful and useful as VCDS. I’d seriously consider a TDI Cayenne if it weren’t for the poor VCDS support.

The generic codes you get in Torque don’t have nearly the detail down to the specific failure, and you can’t execute the built in on demand diagnostics that actually test each system directly.

I can charge $500/hour for consulting, but haven't done any consulting in over a year because I'd rather go on outdoor adventures with my son. I'll be dammed if I'm gonna spend my weekend replacing the wrong parts on my Touareg because I was too cheap to buy VCDS.

 

[New2Tregs]

I just dumped 4 grand on rubber coolant hoses for my Touareg since they were failing one at a time I just did them all.

Was it 4K because they were all OEM VW hoses?

 

[casioqv]

Was it 4K because they were all OEM VW hoses?

Yep OEM dealer prices. I think one of the hoses was $500 🤣 I could have got them cheaper but not quickly enough to get the dealer to install them for free while putting In a new engine under warranty.